


The Last Five Years

by nathen-millers (TheBoxer)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Unhappy Ending, in the sense as they break up, the last five years au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 23:01:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2750330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBoxer/pseuds/nathen-millers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke is over and Clarke is gone.</p><p>He never saw it, never saw how everything had changed.</p><p>Last Five Years au</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Five Years

**Author's Note:**

> This is told from Bellamy and Clarke's POV. Clarke's part is told in chronological order and Bellamy's part is told in reverse chronological order. 
> 
> Inspired by the musical, The Last Five Years.

**Year Five and 1 month**

Clarke is over and Clarke is gone.

Bellamy threw another t shirt in a box.

Clarke has decided it’s time to move and Bellamy is still hurting.

A month, a whole fucking month.

It’s wasn’t fucking fair, she’s probably fine, probably convinced herself it was all his fault.

And he is still hurting.

What about him? What about their future? What about the last fucking five years together?

Bellamy threw a sweater in the box and tapped it shut. He lugged the boxes to the front coat closet and shoved them in.

As he walked away from the closet, he sees a picture he forgot to add to the boxes. It’s from Octavia’s wedding, a year ago. Clarke is wearing a dark red dress and is smiling so brightly at him and he is smiling right back at her, it pains Bellamy so much he can barely breathe.

“Why couldn’t you give me a day? How could you act like we were nothing?” he says to the picture.

Clarke is over and what is he supposed to do?

Bellamy throws the picture against the wall.

**

**Year 1**

Clarke is sick and tired of her mother’s blind dates for her.

Wells, John, Tristin, Jackson, and now, a budding businessman Finn Collins.

God, she can’t stand her mother sometimes, most of the time.

Like honestly, if Clarke, a smart, well read, thoughtful, young 23 year old wanted a boyfriend, she would go out and go get one, thank you very much _Mother_.

But Abby Griffin couldn’t see that.

All her mother saw is her only child fresh out of art school and having no real career to speak of (By Abby’s standards), and no boyfriend to take care of her.

So Clarke found herself sitting in a nice restaurant across from Finn, who couldn’t seem to realize she hasn’t been listening for the last five minutes.

“I am going to grab another drink from the bar, do you want anything?” Clarke interrupted him.

“I am sure we could the waiter to get that for you,” Finn offered.

“I really would prefer to get myself, I have a very specific order,” she says quickly as she gets out of her seat.

Once Clarke reaches the bar, she leans her arms against the wood and says, “Can I get a shot of vodka?”

“Bad night?” a voice says to her right.

Clarke looks up and sees a handsome man sipping on his beer, “How could you tell?” she says dryly.

He smirks, “Call it an educated guess. Blind date?’

“My mother set it up,” she says grimacing.

The man laughs and says, “Well I can’t have the prettiest girl in the room being stuck on a blind from hell.”

“Prettiest girl in the room, huh? I bet you say that to all the girls,” she says rolling her eyes. 

“Only you princess,” he promises.

Clarke can only look at him and laugh.

“I am Clarke,” she says

He offers his hand to her, “Bellamy.”

**

**Year five**

“I am glad you came,” Bellamy says smiling softly.

Clarke nods, but doesn’t say anything. She had been doing that so often that he almost forgets how she used to talk his ear off.

It’s been hard, and they have been fighting but she came.

She came.

“I am proud of you,” she says, “You are officially a doctor, Doctor Blake.”

“I have a PhD Clarke, not a MD. Doctor title is just honorary,” he says, his smiling becoming wider.

“Oh shush,” she teases.

And he could see everything playing out, they’ll have a nice dinner, go back to the hotel, spend the rest the weekend in Chicago together before going back home.

They’ll stop fighting so often and they’ll get engaged and then married and everything will be fine.

Because Clarke is laughing and he is smiling and everything seems so good.

“I actually have to go soon, I have an art gallery I have to see while I am in the city,” Clarke says.

Bellamy frowns, “I thought we had time, I made reservations at restaurant but that’s fine. If you have to go, you have to right?”

They continue walking around the little park.

“You know what? Can I just say that the fact that we could be spending time together and you chose the same thing over and over again. It’s always about you and your job and just once I want to do something together and to celebrate my job,” Bellamy says, his voicing growing louder.

“Bellamy, I have to do this. I have to create contacts in other cities. Finn is always telling me to take advantage of where I am to make connections,” Clarke tries to say.

“Oh for the love of god, Clarke, I am so sick of hearing Finn says this, and Finn says that. Guess what? Finn just wants in your pants and he’ll say anything to get into them. And I bet you’d let him! But that’s not even the point, the point is you always put your career above me, above us!” Bellamy yells.

“Oh forgive me for trying to make a name for myself, forgive me for trying,” Clarke yells back, “What would you have me do? Sit at home, waiting around for you? Like a perfect little housewife?”

“No! I just want,”

“You just want what?” she says, getting right in his face.

“I just want to matter to you, more than your job,” he says.

Bellamy runs a hand through his hair and backs up a couple of step, “You know what? Do what you want, just do whatever the hell you want, Clarke.”

Bellamy turns his back to her, but still he hears her yell, “I will!”

**

**Year 1 and six months**

Things were looking up. Clarke had a fairly steady commission for her art and she had been dating Bellamy for over a year.

They found an apartment with great natural light for when she paints and had a great office for Bellamy for writing his dissertation.

And everything is perfect.

Her mother isn’t so keen on Bellamy (“He’s a scholar, Clarke, he’ll never make great money,”) but Clarke could care less. It’s not like she’ll be terribly rich with her art sales. 

Because yes, he is 27 and she is barely 24, and yeah, that is a kinda steep age difference but she doesn’t care, because she knows that they are perfect for each other.

Clarke checks her phone to see any new text from the art gallery manager. She sold another piece and he wants her to start bring more for the gallery.

Things were looking up indeed.

**

**Year four and 8 months**

Things are so hard now.

All Clarke seems to care about these days are her art sales and going to parties and meeting new people. And Bellamy is left in the dust, grading papers for the classes he teaches and cooking dinner for them if she bothers to come back in time.

Bellamy stands in a corner near the bar, watching Clarke talk with her buyers.

He is a part of Clarke’s life, he knows that. He is a part of her life when he makes her coffee after she stays up too late painting, and when she cries over stupid little things like commercials and he comforts her, he is a part of her life.

He just wishes he was a bigger part.

**

**Year Two**

 “Happy two year anniversary,” Clarke says early that morning, kissing his nose.

She watches as a small smile takes over his face, “Happy two year anniversary to you too,” he mumbles, his voice still heavy with sleep.

“I want you to open you present before you go to school,” she tells him.

“What is it, you?” he asks, eyes full of mischief.

“Not now, maybe when you come home,” she says playfully.

Clarke reaches behind her and hands him the small, wrapped box.

She watches as Bellamy carefully unwraps the box, reveling a velvet box.

“Is it the guy who is supposed to give the girl jewelry, princess?” he teases her.

Clarke rolls her eyes, “Just open the box.”

Bellamy opens the box, reveling a watch identical to her father’s that she wears every day.

“My dad always encouraged me to follow my dreams as an artist, and he gave me the watch to remind me. And now I am giving you an identical watch to follow your dream to become a professor,” she explains softly.

Bellamy leans forward and kisses her softly.

“I love you,” he says

Clarke smiles, “I love you too.”

 

**

**Year Four**

“God my students suck,” Bellamy tells Clare over the phone.

“Really? Why?”

“They all don’t give a damn about ancient history!”

Clarke giggles, “Then why are they in the class? It’s not required.”

Bellamy sighs and pinches his nose, “To hell if I know,”

Clarke laughs over the phone, “Despite slacker students, how’s the teaching?

“I mean it’s alright, I am hoping they’ll offer me a more permanent position ,” he says.

“I am sure they will,” Clarke reassures him.

 “I hope so,” he mummers.

**

**Year three**

 “Clarke,” Bellamy whispers to her one night as they lay together in bed, his arm around her.

“Yeah, Bell?”

“If I asked you to marry me, would you?”

Clarke stiffens, “I don’t know, are you asking?”

“Not right now,” he reassures her, “Just one day, would you?”

Clarke thinks, they have been together for three years, she loves him and he loves her. It makes sense that one day he would want to be married.

“Yeah, I would say yes,” she whispers back.

“What about kids? How many?” he asks.

“No more than three,” she says sternly.

“Ok, I can agree to that. As long I can pick out one of their names,” he bargains.

“No way, they would end up with names like Octavia’s,” she teases.

“I like O’s name,” he says, mock offended.

“Of course you do,” she says, “You like all those ancient emperors and empresses.”

“I do,” he says, “And so do you.”

“Yeah, I do too,” she says softly.

**

**Year three and six months**

“It’s just hard, O,” Bellamy tells her, “I thought once I started teaching more, new jobs and internships would come more easily. But I have been turned down for all but one of the jobs.”

Octavia takes a sip of her coffee, “One job is still a job, where is it?”

“It’s small school, a couple of hours away, I’ll barely see Clarke,” he says glumly.

“Clarke won’t be able to come with you?” Octavia asks.

“Not with her art business booming like it is,”

Octavia pats his hand, “You’ll be ok, the job only lasts for 3 months, and you’ll be coming home every night, yeah? You’ll see you then.”

Bellamy sighs and says, “Yeah, I guess.”  

**

**Year four**

“I don’t get why you are jealous of him,” Clarke says, “We went on one bad date like four years ago and I met you that night.”

“I see the way he looks at you!” Bellamy says.

“You are just being stupid,” she says.

Clarke is just so annoyed with herself, because she actually likes that Finn flirts with her. It’s not like she would do anything with him. It’s just…

It’s just Bellamy is so stressed out with his PhD thing coming out and Finn is always so relaxed and joking around and is always happy.

And Bellamy just isn’t like that with her anymore. He’s stressed and angry and busy. Clarke only sees him smiling when he is talking with Octavia.

But they are fine, it’s just a rough patch.

**

**Year Two**

Life isn’t easy for Bellamy. Trying to get his PhD while trying to teach and trying to make some money on the side.

It’s insane but he and Clarke need the money to help pay for the brand new place they just moved into and Clarke just needs time to get her art going and then he can quit his second job and start focusing on just  teaching.

And it’s going to be worth it, because Clarke is worth it.

**

**Year Four and ten months**

 “I wish you would come,” Clarke tells him as she clips her necklace around her neck.

“I just don’t feel like it Clarke,” he says, “There’ll be other parties.”

“I just, I feel like you don’t want to support anything I do until you have your PhD, and I don’t think that’s fair,” she says, “I have been supporting you for years, and I won’t act like my career isn’t important or pretend my career isn’t worth anything.”

“No one is asking you to do that,” Bellamy snaps.

“You are acting like I should,” she shots back.

“I just don’t feel like going to a party,” he says.

“Fine,” Clarke snaps, “Fine, I am leaving. Don’t wait up.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” he mutters.

Clarke slams the door on her way out.

******

**Year 1**

After a year together, he is finally meeting her mother. And he is pretty sure he is in love with Clarke Griffin.

But he is going to focus on meeting her mother first.

“So before you meet her,” Clarke tells him, “I have a couple of questions.”

“Go for it, Clarke,” he says.

“Ok, first, are you sure you wanna do this? There is a very real possibility that you might hate me after this,” she says seriously.

“Clarke, your mother could never scare me off,” he promises her.

“And the second thing is, do you wanna look for a place together?”

He feels the grin break out onto his face, “I would love that,” he says sincerely.

Clarke returns his smile and goes on her toes to kiss him.

**

**Year four and eleven months**

“Clarke, you aren’t a bad person,” Finn tries to tell her.

“Yes, I am!” she shrieks, “And so are you!”

“It was a kiss, it’s not like we had sex,” Finn protests.

Clarke closes her eyes, she did it. She kissed Finn and now everything is ruined. She can’t go back to her old life with Bellamy.

Nothing will ever be the same.

“Listen to me, Finn, I go to Chicago next month to see Bellamy, and then we’ll come back, he can never know about this,” she pleads, “Never, it would only hurt him.”

Finn sighs, “Clarke, I think you should tell him.”

Clarke backs away, “I love him, Finn, and you’ll keep this secret with me. Please, Finn, if you feel anything for me at all, keep this secret.”

Clarke leaves the studio before he can reply.

**

**One month**

“I had a good time tonight,” Bellamy says as he walks Clarke to her apartment.

Clarke smiles at him, “So did I.”

Bellamy clears his throat, “I have been thinking,”

Clarke raises an eyebrow, “And?”

“And I want to make this official,” he says.

“After one month?”

“Yeah after one month,” he says.

Clarke stops at her apartment building, “I would like that, Bellamy.”

“Good,” he says before capturing her lips with his.

******

**Five years and one day**

Bellamy never saw how deep the problems went. And sometimes Clarke thinks that’s for better.

He doesn’t have to know what she did or how she lost control of everything. He doesn’t have to know all the stupid things she did.  

And how Clarke could never be that girl for him, she would never be that girl.

He never saw it, never saw how everything had changed.

She leaves most of her stuff in their apartment, one day she would get it back.

Clarke picks up her suitcase, she gives their apartment one last look. She notices the picture from Octavia’s wedding.

Oh how she wishes she could go back.

“Goodbye, Bell,” she says softly as she puts the picture down on the table.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment and kudos.


End file.
